The large and ever growing industries based upon the breeding, maintenance, care, feeding and treatment of animals, particularly livestock (i.e. dairy and beef cattle, sheep, goats and swine), poultry, farm-raised wild animals (e.g. deer and elk), farm-raised fish and other aquatic animals, insects such as bees, as well as breeders of horses and other members of the horse family, are under increasing pressure to maintain high levels of production alongside high standards for product quality and safety. For example, the industry is in continual need of better ways to maintain the health of the animals and control the odor created by the animals.
Attempts have been made to use biochar as a livestock feed additive to benefit animal health and control odor. But there are two issues with the prior attempts, first, the prior art has narrowly focused on the use of biochar as the additive. For example, CN 103815176 discloses a biochar livestock and poultry feed additive as well as a production method and using method thereof, and provides that, during use, the biochar livestock and poultry feed additive can be mixed with feed powder, can be subjected to mixing granulation for use, and can also be granulated independently for use.
In CN 103202402, the biochar feed is limited to its exclusive application to chickens through pyrolyzing wheat straws. The application further states that the chicken feed provided by the invention can promote the production property of broiler chickens, lower abdominal fat percentage and feed conversion ratios, and especially lower the content of total cholesterol and triglyceride of broiler chickens.
The invention disclosed in WO 2012163364 A2 (Harttung) primarily relates to a method of reducing the emission of methane and possible other carbonaceous gasses from livestock into the atmosphere. The application teaches an animal feed composition that comprises a pyrolyzed lignocellulotic composition to reduce the emission of methane and possible other carbonaceous gasses from livestock into the atmosphere and a method for manufacturing such animal feed composition by exposing it to a superheated steam.
U.S. application Ser. No. 12/401,672 (Harttung) also relates to a method of reducing the emission of methane and possible other carbonaceous gasses from livestock into the atmosphere using an animal feed composition. In this application, instead of the animal feed composition comprising the pyrolyzed lignocellulotic composition (as taught in WO2012163364), this application teaches an animal feed composition comprised of solid carbonaceous matter. The application further teaches the methane and possible other carbonaceous gasses being encapsulated within the structure of the said carbonaceous matter, the livestock moving bowels with feces, and the methane and possible other carbonaceous gasses being encapsulated in the voids of the solid carbonaceous matter after the livestock have made bowels with the feces.
Nothing in either WO2012163364 or U.S. Ser. No. 13/501,672 application, however, specifically discusses the use of biochar for anything other than reducing gaseous emission into the atmosphere (As an example, reducing odors, reducing livestock diseases, increasing livestock growth rates, and more are not discussed).
Thus in summary, the prior art focuses entirely on the use of the biochar as an additive. Nothing in the prior art teaches the possible use of biochar as a delivery mechanism for supplements or other additives.
The second issue with previous attempts for use of biochar in animal applications is the lack of ability to control or remove potentially toxic substances in the biochar, which can be harmful to animals and/or humans. Further, when used strictly as an additive, nothing in the prior art address the removal of dioxins or other harmful or potentially toxic substances in the biochar, which can be harmful to the animals or to humans subsequently consuming the animals, prior to use.